Wire holder



March 27, 1962 c. M. .JORGENSEN 3,027,170

wlRE HOLDER Filed May 1s, 1960 /SAQ f3 m 1N V EN TOR.'

ATTORNEYS.

United tates Patent Office 3,027,170 Patented Mar. 27, 1962 3,027,170 WIRE HOLDER Carther M. Jorgensen, 2304 Henley St., Glenview, lll. Filed May 13, 1964), Ser. No. 28,923 7 Claims. (Cl. 279-22) This invention relates to a Wire holder, and more specifically, to a handle equipped with retaining means for releasably holding a wire element such as a wire inoculating loop.

A main object of the present invention is to provide a thin pencil-like holder of simple and durable construction adapted for releasably holding wire elements such as inoculating loops. Another object is to provide a wire holder which may be readily manipulated to release or grip an end portion of a wire element. A further object is to provide a holder having relatively few elements which are structurally interconnected so that they cannot become separated and lost.

Other objects will appear from the specification and drawings in which:

FiGURE l is a perspective view of a wire holder embodying the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged exploded and broken longitudinal sectional view illustrating the various elements of the combination shown in FlGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged broken longitudinal sectional view similar to FIGURE 2 but showing the parts in assembled condition;

FIGURE 4 is a still further enlarged cross sectional View taken along line 4-4 of FGURE 3.

ln the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, the numeral generally designates a holder for gripping a wire element 11. In 'the illustration given, the wire element is provided with a straight shank portion 12 and a closed loop 13 at one end thereof. Such an element is commonly referred to as an inoculating loop and is usually formed from platinum `or some other durable metal which may be sterilized by flame. Durability for such use is only relative, however, and even a platinum element will not last indefinitely. Thus, the wire element must be releasable from the holder for replacement by a new element, or for interchanging elements of different shapes, cleaning or repairing elements, or any other reason.

Holder 10 essentially comprises an elongated cylindrical handle shaft 14 having a thin axial bore 15 at one end thereof for receiving a portion of wire element 11. Preferably, the end portion 16 is of smaller external diameter than the remainder of the handle shaft. The cylindrical surface of the front end portion 16 -merges smoothly with the surface of the shaft disposed therebehind by means of frusto-conical intermediate portion 17.

As shown most clearly in FIGURES 2 and 4, the front portion 16 of the shaft is provided with a transverse or radial opening 18 which communicates with bore 15 and which receives a locking ball 19. The locking ball is freely movable in inward and outward directions within the radial opening and is capable of projecting into bore to engage an inserted wire element 11 and to prevent axial movement thereof, as will be brought out hereinafter.

'Ihe third element of the holder structure, the nose cap 2i), is cylindrical in shape and is provided with a tapered chamber Z1 for receiving the front portion of the handle shaft. The nose cap is provided with a front wall 22 having a central aperture 23 axially aligned with bore 15 of the shaft.

The chamber 21 of the nose cap 20 has front and rear portions 24 and 25. Front portion 24 is cylindrical in shape, having a diameter only slightly greater than the diameter of shaft portion 16. The rear portion 25 is frusto-conical in shape and merges at its smaller end with front portion 24. At its rear end, nose 20 is provided with a ring 26 which defines an opening only slightly larger than the diameter of shaft portion 16. Thus, the opening delined by the ring is substantially smaller than the maximum internal diameter of the nose. The ring may be held in place by a retaining bead 26a or by any other suitable means or may, if desired, be formed integrally with the nose cap.

Locking ball 19 is of greater diameter than the radius of the reduced front portion 16 of handle shaft 14. As a result, the smooth outer surface of the locking ball projects beyond the periphery of the cylindrical front portion 16 even when wire element 11 is removed from the holder. Consequently, the ring 26 is incapable of clearing the locking ball and serves as a stop for limiting the extent of forward movement of the nose cap.

With ring 26 in contact with locking ball 19, the nose cap is in releasing position. Ball 19 may be moved outwardly away from bore 15v as wire 11 is urged therethrough and the wire element may thus be easily withdrawn from or inserted into the bore. To secure the wire element in place, the nose cap is simply pulled rearwardly into locking position, the sloping interior surfaces of the nose cap bearing rmly against the ball to urge it inwardly into tight contact with that portion of the shank of .the wire element passing through the base of opening l. Therefore, locking ball 19 performs dual functions: it cooperates with the tapered internal surfaces of the nose cap to lock a wire element in position and it also cooperates with the stop ring 26 to limit the extent of axial movement of the nose cap into releasing position.

While in the foregoing I have disclosed an embodiment of the invention in considerable detail for purposes of illustration it will be understood by those skilled in the art that many of these details may be varied considerably without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A wire holder comprising an elongated shaft having an axially-extending bore at one end thereof for receiving the end of a wire, said shaft being provided with a transversely extending opening intersecting said bore, a locking element received within said opening for inward and outward movement therein, and a cap having a frustoconical inner surface and being axially slidable along the end portion of said shaft, said cap having its inner surface engageable with said locking element for urging the same inwardly as said cap is moved axially in one direction, said cap having a front end in front of the forward end of said shaft provided with a narrow aperture therein in communication with said bore and having an open rear end, and an annular stop member provided by said cap adjacent the open rear end thereof for engagement with said ball and for limiting `the extent of forward movement of said cap.

2. The structure of claim 1 in which said locking element comprises a ball of greater diameter than the radius of said shaft adjacent said transverse opening.

3. The structure of claim 1 in which said end portion of said shaft is cylindrical in shape and is of smaller diameter than the remainder of the shaft.

4. A wire holder comprising an elongated handle having an axial bore at one end portion thereof for receiving an end of a wire, said handle being provided with a radially extending opening communicating with but not crossing through said bore, a locking ball received within said opening for radial movement therein, and a nose cap extending over and being axially slidable along the end portion of said handle and having a tapered inner surface engageable with said ball for urging the same radially as said cap is moved axially, said cap having a front end provided with a narrow aperture communicating with said bore and having an open rear end, and an annular stop member provided by said cap adjacent the lopen rear end thereof for engagement with said ball and for limiting the extent of forward movement of said cap.

5. The structure of`claim 4 in which said ball has a. diameter greater than the radius of the end portion of said handle.

A'6. A Wire holdertcomp'rising an elongated handleV shaft lhaving an axial ybore and having a radially extending open- .sleeve being axially slidable along an end portion said shaft and having a tapered inner surface engageable with said ball for urging the same radially within said opening, said sleeve having at least one end thereof provided With an annular stop element engageable with said ball for limiting the extent of axial movement of said sleeve towards the end of said shaft.

7. The structure of claim 6 in which said annular stop element comprises a ring defining an opening slightly larger in diameter than said handle for slidably receiving said handle shaft therein.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

